Arc II, Chapter 38: The Frog Trap

Arc II, Chapter 38: The Frog Trap

What are our characters motivations? Kimberly asked.

Good question, I said.

I thought for a moment. There were countless movies where things like motivations were dropped leading to the conclusion of the story. By that point, the audience is usually invested enough to not even realize that the protagonists could just walk away.

Theyre headed to the hospital, I said. Thats the only set piece in that direction. We just so happen to have someone who is severely injured. Combine that with our innate curiosity or sense of justice and were golden.

Truthfully, I didnt know what my character would be thinking right then and I didnt care. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins so fast I could hardly think. I kept hearing a sound I thought was the rushing sewers, but I soon realized it was just my own blood rushing I was hearing.

I took a few deep breaths.

We had gone Off-Screen as soon as Second Blood ended. We were just outside of town square.

There were people everywhere. It was a massacre.

Guys, Dina said. We have to stop.

Well lose them if we stop, Antoine said.

Look, Dina said. She pointed back to town square. We were quite a distance from the collapsed sewer where we had climbed up, but there were many holes just like it throughout the entire area.

She was pointing to a mound of mud and cobblestones near a tilted statue in the center of town square.

The time capsule, Kimberly said.

Dina must have noticed it because of her Outsiders Perspective trope. It jutted up from a mound created by the flood.

Its lock was still attached, but the capsule had warped badly from its tumultuous unearthing.

I can bust through that, Antoine said. Its broken. Look. He put his hand on one of the panels that had been used to build the contraption. The weld is busted. Theres a crack big enough to get my hand in.

Weird, I said. Youd think it was too early for us to get this.

And I was right.

He placed his fingers in the crack and started pulling. He wasnt wrong. The structure really was broken.

He was making progress. He pulled against the metal. Whatever help I could be, I tried to be. It felt like we were bending it. I could feel it straining on my hands, even though there was hardly any place to put them.nove(l)bi(n.)com

Somethings in there, Antoine said. I can almost see it. Kimberly, reach in here when we pull back.

She knelt near the large metal structure and began sticking her hand in. Just as she did, it started to vibrate.

It was a familiar rumble.

I managed to say, Dammit, it was a trap, just as the mound of dirt near the capsule started to rise and something underneath it began shaking.

Now Carousel is playing dirty, Isaac said.

With a pun like that, he must have lost a lot of blood.

We had gotten greedy. And we would pay the price.

Run! I screamed as if the others needed to be told.

On-Screen.

The mound of dirt continued shaking. The faces on the back of the giant frog started to be revealed. It had buried itself. That was how the capsule had been unearthed. We had just woken the beast in a way we had never intended.

Time out! Antoine screamed just as Chase and Fight Scene flipped on at the same time.

Suddenly, the mound of dirt with a horrific frog underneath stopped moving.

I normally wasnt around for Antoine to use his Time Out trope. How fun.

Is there an advantage to running into the carnival area? he asked. We could lose it in the buildings.

He had a point. If hiding was our best bet, the mess of overturned carnival booths and amusement park rides was a good bet.

We may have to try that to keep Isaac alive, I said.

The frog would attack the person with the lowest Hustle. That was Isaac and Cassie.

The statue didnt budge.

Bang!

A loud shot rang out from somewhere.

Bang!

I looked around at the source. Thats when I saw him. Kurt Willis, GI Paragon, limping at us from across the square.

He held a gun larger than his leg and he was firing it at the giant frog.

The bullets werent doing lethal damage, especially with the creatures PA and tropes, but it did just enough to make it withdraw its tongue and hop away from the bullets.

It rubbed up against the statue.

The statue fell directly onto the frogs back leg. I heard a snap.

Get up! I screamed at Cassie and Isaac. We were close enough that when the frog struggled to be unpinned by the statue, we would be crushed.

We managed to get up and scramble out of the way as the frog leaped away, clearing twenty feet in one jump. I had assumed the frog had broken a leg, but I wasnt sure. Its tropes helped protect it from damage, but I had distinctly heard a snap.

Willis continued firing shots at it as it left. Then, he said, I dont know if Halle killed Geist, but I have a sneaking suspicion he isnt innocent.

He was still wearing his borrowed shorts and shirt, but the shirt was torn. As Cassie predicted, he was covered in blood. His high Grit made the wounds a minor inconvenience. He had a bandolier full of large bullets wrapped around his body like a sash.

Sorry I was late, he said. Got swept out into the river. Had to get my cannon from my car. He tapped the large gun in his hands. Cannon was a good name for it. It was neither a shotgun nor a rifle. It was huge, too big for a real-life police officer, but just right for a fictional one.

How are you alive? Antoine asked.

Im two hundred pounds of hard to kill, Willis responded. Now someone tell me what the hell is going on.

Off-Screen.

We didnt actually need to fill him in. I got the impression that he had run this scenario every which way it could be run.

Man, you guys are coming right along, he said. Might get something close to a perfect run. If my cigars hadnt gotten soaked, I could have lit one after the frog ran off. That would have sealed things, dont you say?

Willis homed in on Antoine and started correcting his techniques. His lack of quips, bullet counting, and general choreography were up for criticism. He must have been watching us for a while.

I was just glad we got a chance to take a breath.

So you all tried to open the capsule, huh? he asked with a laugh. I suppose you learned your lesson. Everybody does eventually.

Antoine nodded.

So all I got is one question left for you all. Are we going for the solve here? I see you're chasing the doctor for a finale back at Hallowed Heart. You know we can just run away. If we get out of the city the movie ends. Of course, a lot of the footage gets cut if we do that, but we don't have to risk getting things wrong.

That was so tempting. Those frogs were incredibly disturbing and the hybrids in Halles arsenal could freeze your blood with a look.

But I needed answers.

We're going to solve it, I said. The others nodded in agreement. Isaac didn't but he was too far gone.

Were going to the hospital? he asked with a laugh that turned into a cough. His stitches were bleeding. Im in no shape to go the hospital.

He might not survive the finale.

Most people don't solve this their first time, Willis said. The clues are things your characters are supposed to already know going into the story so you have to learn it before the Omen. Usually, folks solve it the next day after it's over and theyve had time to think.

He stretched as he talked. We were in for a fight.

This story doesnt feature the players as much as most of them do, but if you solve it, youre the headliners. I'm excited to see what you got.

We had played a story like that before, Permanent Vacancy. That story, or at least the version we played, was mostly about Samantha and her dad. We didnt show up until halfway through the movie.

This one must have been the same. The villains were featured prominently. That likely meant the audience would have more clues than the players, which could explain why this story felt like we were on a tour through a mystery, not actually solving it. It was a cold case. The clues were hidden by time.

That wasnt without precedent for old-school mysteries where the detective didnt even show up On-Screen until the second act.

The question was, could we figure it out with the information we acquired? I hated the idea that Isaac had been maimed. I couldnt let it be for nothing.

Lets get a move on, soldiers, Willis said, chuckling. With a glance at me and Isaac, he added, Its time to meet your maker.